Building home gardens is a passion for two Louisville teens

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WHAS11) -- It's community service that isn't a punishment for Ben Cortas and Franklin Alongi, but a passion.

They both live in the Highlands and know gardening may not be a hobby for most high school students. "This is just something that kind of draws us. It's just fun for us to do," said Alongi.

It started with their own at home gardens, then grew to include their neighbors. They handed out nearly 200 flyers advertising their services for free.

"We got the email from our first client and we were like, 'We did it!' We were just proud having one," Cortas said with a smile.

That one email quickly turned to one dozen. The duo schedules their planting projects on the weekends and after school.

Garden Services

"Once you put everything in the ground and you get everything set up, it just definitely shows your results and it makes you feel good about what you've done and you think toward the future of what all this is going to bring for the people," Alongi said.

Their clients are both young and old. Homeowners supply all the materials. Just leave the dirty work to Ben and Franklin.

"You can impact your community in a lot of ways but you have to start small, right?" Cortas told WHAS11.

Their work is mainly done in the Highlands, but they hope to plant a seed in other communities and watch their efforts produce other home gardens.